Cerebral Palsy
Thomas has cerebral palsy. Even from the early days of his development we felt that it was clear that his problems have predominately been based around his legs and trunk. We felt we were going round in circles trying to find a therapy that offered Thomas a sound rational hope of being able to walk independently.
TST is the first rational Help
We became interested in Advance because the respiratory based building blocks which Advance i.e. “The Scotson Technique” (TST) promotes, clearly identify the core needs to promote a structured development to aid and strengthen head control, sitting, posture and eventually walking.
Independant Walking
Our decision to use TST was rewarded when Thomas eventually became an aided walker with the use of tripod sticks/posterior walker. Moreover, he is now starting on regular occasions to walk independently although he still needs his full concentration to achieve this. We can see that his independent walking has come from the foundation created by the TST exercises. It is clear that we have to keep a balance between Thomas’s respiratory capacity and growth rate. When they are balanced Thomas goes through exciting periods of good posture and development. But when growth outstrips respiratory capacity, development slows down.
This is convincing evidence in itself that the respiratory based approach works.
Parent’s thoughts
We are convinced that without the “Scotson Technique” the gap between development and growth would over time, have become a downward spiral with a negative outcome on Thomas’s overall health and development. We also feel that because of TST there is now some real and genuine hope that Thomas’s walking will finally gain the stability necessary for his independence in later life.